THE current heat of the Australian Open might seem a far cry from the rain and wind back at home, but British tennis fans watching from their sofas, all eyes have been fixed on one fiery player who has rekindled the excitement for British women’s tennis.
Her name? Johanna Konta.
On paper, her exotic and heroically un-British name might recall that of former British tennis number one Gregg Rusedski. On screen, she has captured British hearts.
The 22-year old has surpassed her own expectations at this year’s Australian Open, having overcome China’s Zhang Shuai in straight sets to secure a fourth-round tie with Germany’s Angelique Kerber on Thursday, revelaing to the media that she feels like a “real princess” to have the opportunity to play two matches in two days.
The British number one defeated her Chinese opponent, ranked 133rd in the world, in one hour and 22 minutes, confidently clinching the first set 6-2 and serving impressively. Both players initially struggled to find their rhythm in what was a hot and steamy day, but Konta managed to capitalise on a series of unforced errors from Zhang, who struggled with some base-line hits and could find no response to the tenacity of Konta’s deep ground strokes for much of the match.
The British athlete appeared unfazed by what her own rival had achieved in the tournament. Zhang had never reached the quarter-finals of a slam before, having seen off the likes of world number two Simona Halep in what has been the biggest win of her career, French player Alize Cornet and the Americans Varvara Lepchenko and Madison Keys.
Konta, refusing to be complacent, displayed resilience in the second set when Zhang briefly responded, managing to save a break point that would have equalled the set at 5-5, before converting her sixth set point to earn a double break lead and clinch the second set.
Her victory means that she is the first British woman to reach the semi-final of a major tournament since 1983, when Jo Durie played at the US Open in that year.
As a result of the success, she is guaranteed prize money of £370,000.
What’s more, the rise of the star means that she is likely to see her pre-tournament world ranking of 47 shattered by the fruits of her ongoing form, quite possibly moving up into the top 30 after the tournament.
Born in Sydney to Hungarian parents before settling in the UK at the age of 14, she acquired British citizenship in May 2012.
Despite Australian press painting the British star as a “local girl”, when asked about her Australian and British affiliations, the Sydney-born player said, “Actually I am a tri-citizen. I’ve got a Hungarian passport as well. Just add that into the mix – I’m pretty much the female version of Jason Bourne.”
Konta, who trains in Spain, has also denied the possibility of switching allegiance to Hungary, revealing to the BBC that such a feat would be “a lost cause”, saying, “I definitely belong to Great Britain.”
And, whatever the outcome of her match against Kerber tomorrow, it is sure to be one that British tennis fans will revere for the next few months, maybe even years. It has, after all, been seemingly rare for a British female tennis player to feature in the semi-finals of any major grand slam tournament. Along with Sue Barker, an Australian Open semi-finalist in 1975 and 1977, and Virginia Wade, who won the tournament in 1972, Konta adds her name to the extremely limited list of British female tennis stars to reach the last four of the Australian Open in its 58-year history.
With Andy Murray having secured a last four place after beating David Ferrer 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-3 to reach his sixth Melbourne semi-final, it is the first time since 1977 that two British tennis players have appeared in the semi-finals of the tournament.
The Scot, who is seeded second, will play Canada’s Milos Raonic on Friday.
Fiona Tomas
Featured image: The Independent